Nations at War - Episode 7

Nations at War continues.  Mass migration has shaped nations.  These migrants were in search of a better life.  The First Nations migrated to chase their prey.  Their descendants followed the traditions of their ancestors.  The Ojibwe were such a people.  There were legends of the Ojibwe living on a great ocean.  They were going to make a trek across North America and that light-skinned people would change things for the people. 

Eventually, the Ojibwe moved inland and settled on Mackinaw Island.  As they migrated, they left behind little bands to build new communities.  Eventually, the people controlled a large numb of territories.  The Ojibwe would form a confederacy of three different tribes, and this confederacy would be known as the Three Fires Confederacy.  The Great Lakes forged the Ojibwe nation and the land could support a large number of people
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The Ojibwe were explorers and used the waterways of the Great Lakes to travel.  Eventually, the Great Lakes region would become a violent territory.  Samuel de Champlain founded the outpost of Quebec.  He would travel around the Canadian interior and would build a trade network.  He would partner with the First Nations.  Eventually, he made his way into Ojibwe territory.   The Ojibwe would ally with the French and would become part of international trade.  The Birchbark canoe would make trade possible.

Trading with the French brought the Ojibwe many benefits.  The French gained protection from the growing Iroquois nation.  The Iroquois was looking to control the trade.  They then attacked the Wendat nation were wiped out.  The survivors were adopted by the Iroquois or other First Nations tribes.  The Wendat territory was abandoned, and the Ojibwe moved in.  The Iroquois went after the Ojibwe and war was declared between the two nations.

The war raged on for nearly fifty years.  Finally, the Ojibwe won a bloody battle.  An estimated 700 canoes were assembled and went after the Iroquois people.  It was a vicious fight.  This loss was a devastating blow to the Iroquois, and they had to make a treaty with the Ojibwe.  The Great Peace was signed by the representatives of two dozen nations.  The Iroquois wars were over.  Would the peace last?

In the second half of the episode, a global war was started in North America.  The first shot was fired by none other than George Washington and he was the pawn of a local chief desperate to save his people.  The Mingo people were a diverse community that lived in the Ohio River Valley.  It was a vast wilderness and had rivers that could be used for trade.  This land was fought over by three nations.  The British Colony in North America had a population explosion.  The French wanted to control the Ohio Valley because with that control they could unite with their New France territory.

The Iroquois wanted to control the Ohio territory as well.  They had defeated their neighbors in search of wealth and the Erie Nation vanished from the territory.  It was the women that decided to go to war to replace a lost loved one.  Any survivors moved into the Ohio territory and became the Mingo people.  A Mingo chief arose and took on the leadership of his people.  He looked to play the British and the French against each other.  Would the chief be successful in keeping his people safe?  Tune into this episode to find out more about the Mingo people and the fight over the Ohio River Valley.
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The first episode was good and would be an excellent foundation for a longer episode on the Ojibwe.  The second episode was also a fascinating watch, especially the part about the Mingo people.  Overall, this would be one episode I would show in a history class.